Le Piane Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo Piedmont, Italy 2021

Producer: Le Piane

Grape: Nebbiolo

Where:  Colline Novaresi, Boca, Piemonte

Country: Italy

Taste: Produced with Nebbiolo and Vespolina grapes from the Nova hills. This wine is the fruit of Altopiemonte’s vocation for flavour, fragrance, crispness of fruit and drinkability. Produced in the simplicity of our tradition, macerating for six days with a daily pumping over and maturing for about nine months in steel containers. Although an affordable wine, it is the result of careful harvesting and ageing that give it softness of tannins and excellent harmony, perfect for even meals with great personality.

Vibes with: Red and white meats, especially roasted pork, game birds, rabbit, stuffed pasta in brown or butter sauces, mushroom and truffle dishes, medium-aged dry cheeses.

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Additional Info:

In the 90s, and together with enologist Alexander Trolf, Christoph Kuenzli visited Boca and its forgotten vineyards and both became enthusiastic about the region and it’s excellent potential. At that time we became acquainted with Antonio Cerri, one of the last winegrowers to produce the typical and outstanding Boca wine. In view of his advanced age, more than 80 years old, Antonio Cerri handed over to us his small vineyard (0.5 hectares), cellar and his old vintages. We seized the opportunity and step-by-step acquired further small plots of forest. Like a jigsaw, the property developed to become a whole. The best areas of Boca – 4 vineyards with about 1.5 hectares (4 acres) each – were cleared and replanted with Nebbiolo and Vespolina vines. “Le Piane” now has an area of 8 hectares (20 acres) of vineyards, 2 (5 acres) of them with old vines.

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Boca is Piemonte's easternmost DOC zone, and with the exception of the also little known area of Sizzano, it's northernmost as well. It is entirely surrounded by a mountainous national park. It forms something of a southerly exposed amphitheatre at 400-500 m elevation, just west of the "Ridiculously " beautiful Lago d'Orta. The stony porhyritic soils are unique in all of Italy and closely resemble those of Cote Rotie. It was once one of Italy's most esteemed wines. In the year 1300, (no typo) a reporter from Novara described it's wines as being "renown since ancient times". Perhaps pre-Roman? There is no clear evidence of Nebbiolo being grown yet in the Langhe that early. Boca the wine, from the town of the same name, had fallen into near extinction. Vineyards were abandoned as folks moved into nearby Novara and Torino for jobs in post WWII Italy. It's vineyards, once famous, were divided with each passing generation into uselessly small plots. It took a wonderfully crazy Swiss man by the name of Christoph Kunzli, an importer of Italian wines, to single handedly breathe life back into this historic growing area. After ninety four independent real estate transactions, with owners all over the world, to piece back a property sizable enough (6.5 hectares) and contiguous enough to merit the investment in a proper cellar. Then came the replanting of the vineyards! All in all a Herculean effort on the part of Christoph, but well worth it in the end. These wines are ethereal and Glorious! And from Vinous March 2022 "Christophe Künzli is now one of the old guard in Alto Piemonte. He was among the first producers in current times to recognize the value of these abandoned vineyards and to start making wines that expressed that potential. The range has expanded in recent years, but the Boca remains the flagship wine. It is one of the greatest examples of the appellation and belongs in any well-stocked cellar.